Pipe-spoked wheel



Patented Dec. i9, lSlZfZ.

i fn ai l str-arri s ernst o i WILLIAM ERASTUSWILLIAMS, or eI-rrcaso, mentors appncmion sleafnecember s, 191e. semina343,351.`

To all whom it may cofiicern': f

'Be it known that l, lVILLIAiii "ERAs'rUs Tintin-mis, a citizen ofthe 'United States,l a resident of. Chicago, in the county oit 'Cook and St'atelof Lillinois, have invented 'a new and uselul Improvement in Pipe-@poked v"\7l1eels, of which the following` is a-specilication.

The object ofviny invention lis to .produce an automobile Wheel thativ'ill be very light, cheaply constructed and very'strongyand l arrive atfthese results, Apartly through the i' medium of using Wrought 'metal pipe `for spokes, and the invention resides inthearrangement oil the tastemngs oi this pipe y, y x 1r ...1w i

into the hub and the run-and the brake el um.

ltei'erencc will behad to the accompany ing drawing, in which Figure l is airront elevation et' my Wheel.

l "igure 2 is a transverse sectionalv elevation, showing` one-haltV ol 'the Wheel on a larger scale than that oit' 'Figure-1.

VFigure 3 is a transverse section ou line Bml olE .Figure 2. showing a cross section of eue ot' the spokes.

Figure is a. transverse l---fl ot Figure l.

Figure 5 is a transverse section ot the rim on line 5--5 of Figure l. i

ln the drawing, l indicates au ordinary hub olt au automobile truck Wheel. rllhis hub is provided with radially extending flange 2, which goes entirely around the hub, but may, when desired, be luted or mutilated for lightness. @n this flange there rests the inside edge 3 of the brake drum fl shown in dotted lines.

The hub l is provided with a series of spoke sockets here shown asvbeing round, but they may when desired be of .other shapes. These spoke sockets are slightly smaller than the pipe that is used for the spokes 6.

The rim of 7.. having cast therein a series of liuted or corrugated Walled spoke cavities S, which in the smallest diameter o'l' the corrugations is slightly larger than the normal outside diameter of the pieces of the pipe G, which form the spokes. i

These cavities 8 and the pipe cavities in the pipe sockets 5 oi' the hub are simply cleaned out by a coarse riinnier or other tool, in a manner to remove the burrs of the castings and guard against too great a lation section on line the Wheel is made oii a casting in the fits, asrelates --tothe size of holes andy the 'pipe spokes that f are tobe "placed therein.`

In assemblingthe Wheel, a hub'l and a rim farep'laced in a suitableformforv holding them 2in 'proper relatioio-f` 'y AThe piecesfo pipe for the spokes have been ipreviously prepared "as :to the right length, but with smooth fsi'ir'faces, just as they appear in normal-pipe, Aandthen'these pipes `are'entered through"the cavities 8 in the rim by being shoved 'throughfreely'and placed in position andthe'pther ends '9fare forced into the cavities of V.the spoke sockets under very heavy pressure. vThis Y`is accomplished by vsuitable means in, fthe form of hydraulic or screw presses or L'other means'whereby the shortlpieces of' pipe may be pressed into the spoke cavi ies ot the hub very tightly. in which "operation vthe tube 'of "the pipe 'is slightly 'compressed and made to enter into-fthe pip'eisockets with what may be termed, the vlull 'limit ot'possi-r bility of frictional Contact, so as to resist the action ol" ivithdrawinsv the spokes. this means We secure approximately a union oi? the pipe spokes with the hub, almost amounting' to an integral construction of those metal parts.

iil'ter the pipe spokes have been pressed into the hub sockets and suitably arranged, an expanding rollingl tube is entered into the outer ends ol the pieces of pipe lying in the cavities 8 oi the rim and the ends are'expanded and rolled out into Contact with the walls o'lt the cavities 8, after the manner ofY tighteningl boiler tubes in the `flue sheets, and in this manner the ends ot the pieces olE pipe are made to lit into the corrugated or iluted parts, both as to tension and compression so as to be the equivalent of an integral union of said parts with each other.

Since this Wheel is being used for an auto# mobile truck Wheel and most of such wheelsy are employed with what are known asi pressed on tires, the steel bases of the solid rubber tires are lpressed tightly over the outside of the rim 7, as isindicated by l0, and thus the outer ends or' the pipe spokes G directly abut these steel bases of the rubber tires, and carry compression strain directly to the bases, shoivn in dotted lines in Fig. 9.

The brake drum flange l() of the brake drum eis secured to the spokes by bolts l2 Byl 2 y v 1,439,459 l and there is provided a lseries of little pads 13 on the sideso'f the spokes for lilling out the short spokes between the sides of the pipes and the liange l `ofthe brake drum.

Vhile various shapes may be given to the section of my cast ring which forms the tread of the rim of the Wheel, I prefer to use the section shown in Figure in Which there is the cavity lll extending over the region bet-Ween the 'spoke positions. This boxed or enclosed section merges into the Wallsof thespoke sockets Where the spokes are joined. l

This section asshown in Figure 5 becomes a very strong girder betweenthe spokes and at the saine time consumes a small'qnantity" oi metal vrelative to other forms that might be used for this section.

.l/Vhatl claim iszl. The combination with a metal rim having a broad tread provided with an internal medial rib vwhich, has spaced perforations thewvalls of which are recessed, of tubular metal spokes primarily passing freely throughthe perforations and expanded into the recesses therein. i

2. The combination with a khub having spoke-receiving sockets, of a rim having its medial portion inwardly thickened to form a circumferential rib with perforations iavinglaterally recessed Walls and registering With the sockets, respectively, and tubu.

lar spokes primarily slightly smaller than the perforations and larger than the sockets, and adapted to be pressed endwise into the sockets and expanded into the recesses of the said Walls.

3. In a Wheel of the class described, a hub having spoke sockets; a completely formed integral 'annular rim having spoke cavities in the rirnlarger than the cavities for the spokes in the hub with pipe sectional spokes entered through the cavities of the rim and compressed into the hub sockets With their other ends expanded into the rim sockets, .whereby the parts are secured together.

4. In a Wheel of the class described, a cast ring for a rim and said rim having radial apertures in Which the spokes are secured in combination with a box girder section between the spokes. v

`5. The combination with a broad rim iaving spaced spoke-receiving openings with kinternally recessed, sleeve-like Walls, et tubular dur-.tile spokes inserted in said openings, respectively, and expanded into the recesses of said walls.

Signed at Chicago, in the county7 of Cook and State of Illinois, this 1st day of December, 1919.

WILLIAM ERASTUS IVILLIAMS.

lllitnesses 'B. J. BERNHARD, J. B. JEFFERSON. 

